In 2017, the city implemented a special marijuana retail courier license allowing recreational cannabis delivery within city limits. It sounds like an incredible convenience, but it's been a rocky start for this new set of post-legalization cannabis couriers.

It's unclear whether delivery fees are compelling potential customers to get off the couch and drive to a dispensary themselves, or consumers just don't believe the businesses are legit. But several have opened and shuttered within the first few months of operation.

Those that remain have found a following through their own unique approach to ordering systems, menus and deliverable ZIP codes. Here's a guide to current cannabis couriers in Portland and which service to choose depending on what you want brought to you and when.

Fastest Delivery: Rip City Delivery971-261-8985, ripcitydelivery.com. 2-8 pm Monday-Friday, 10 am-8 pm Saturday-Sunday. Minimum order: $40 Delivery range: Any address in Southwest within city limits. After being worried this would be a waiting game like the good old days of on-call dealers, I was pleased to see a Postmates-style instant text update as the order was received, sent out for delivery and at my door. It all happened quickly—I ordered a half-gram Pax vape cartridge pod ($35) and an eighth of Pruf Cultivar's Tangie Biscotti ($35) at 6:45 pm, and by the time I was done making dinner 45 minutes later, there was Dave with my order in hand. Pro tip: Get 20 percent off your first delivery with the promo code "madonna."

Best Interface: Diem Cannabis503-610-9019, portland.hellodiem.com. Noon-8 pm Monday-Sunday. Minimum order: $30 Delivery range: Most ZIP codes within city limits. With a stylish, user-friendly site, Diem's system and stellar prices have built a customer base faster than most new dispensaries—and with steals like $76 half-ounces of house flower, it's no wonder. The menu is organized by the usual product categories, plus categories for high-CBD items of any product type and discounted packs like a $32 bundle of five king-sized pre-rolls of Kali Mist in its signature sky-blue packaging. On the oil side, Diem carries a huge selection of $40 full-gram vape cartridges by Mojave, and $18 grams of shatter by Hush and Cultivated Industries. You can take your infused meal into your own hands with the 43 mg THC olive oil by Little House Foods. Select a two-hour window for delivery, and if you don't mind the additional 5 percent fee, you can even pay with your debit card.

Best Deals: Kush Cart971-229-1281, kushcartpdx.com. Noon-8 pm Monday-Saturday. Minimum order: $30 Delivery range: Within city limits. With $27 eighths of boutique indoor flower like Nelson & Co.'s Gorilla Glue #4 and eighths of Avitas flower for $19, this fledgling delivery service is bound to grow a solid foundation of customers. With an educational approach, including website tutorials on terpenes, Kush has accessed medical customers who can't visit several dispensaries to find the right medicine. According to the head cultivator at Nelson & Co., one patient returned to buy a whole pound of Dawgwalker over time. The discounts roll into the oil side of the menu, with a full gram Avitas vape cartridge of Glitter and Gold for just $31.20.

Most Neighborly: Britesidebrtside.com. 9:30 am-6 pm Monday-Sunday. Minimum order: None Delivery range: Select ZIP codes on the eastside, for now. Is your neighborhood shop just a bit too far of a walk? While those with courier licenses have to operate as retailers through the Oregon Liquor Control Commission, Briteside has found a sweet spot as a delivery middleman between dispensaries and their nearby customers. Partnering with shops like Chalice and the Green Planet in Milwaukie, Briteside's drivers bring anything on their menus to adults in the surrounding neighborhoods. If you live in, say, the Foster-Powell area, you can order a gram of Death Star OG for $7.20 or a pack of Wyld's CBD strawberry gummies for $21 from Green Planet and see it on your doorstep within an hour. The menu and delivery range expand every week, so check the website.

Best Menu: Green Box971-263-1975, pdxgreenbox.com. 8 am-8 pm Monday-Sunday. Minimum order: $50 Because I'm a flower snob of the boutique variety, Green Box's menu made me do a double take. When first trying out this Birchbox-styled monthly delivery service, I customized mine toward a sativa-leaning flower-and-edible selection. The $160 Original Green Box arrived bearing a full-size Leif Medicinals chocolate bar, two THC truffles from Grön, a THC periodic caramel, a king-sized joint from TKO Oregon, infused ginger beer and a hearty gram of flower from Ten Four Farms, Nelson & Co., and 7 Points Oregon. But that's just my order. You can arrange your preferences to be all CBD, or everything but flower, or a mix of everything, and add on or swap out whatever you like month to month. Green Box also delivers one-time deliveries of items from their menu. Once you've finalized your order, pick a two- to three-hour window for delivery and be sure to opt in for text alerts if so desired. As an added bonus, every step of the supply chain has been reviewed for quality and ethical business practices by founder Adrian Wayman, who worked with the city himself to get the courier license established.

Explore topics and categories

Lauren has contributed to the Willamette Week's weed column since 2013, initially going by "Mary Romano" until marijuana became legal in Oregon. She also writes about movies, plays and restaurants for the Art and Culture section.